Paul Hastings LLP - True Picture

Paul Hastings training contract review 2025

The Firm

The name Paul carries with it the great weight of influential and skilled individuals with an expectation for greatness: Paul Rudd lights up the silver screen, Paul Hollywood can bake a hot water crust pastry like no other, and St Paul knows the best spot in town for a cathedral. Suffice to say, Paul Hastings has filled those eponymous shoes as a leading heavyweight in the financial spaces of law. Training principal Jason Raeburn was more than happy to elaborate on this expertise. “We’re one of the few firms ranked at Chambers across all branches of finance,” he explains proudly; “one of the biggest strengths we have is our diversification of all these practices.” Such a keen focus on developing each of these different areas shows that variety is the spice of life for Paul-Muad’Dib Atreides- sorry, we mean Hastings.

“If they think you can handle it, you’ll get the chance to do it. There’s no babysitting here, but it’s made me ten times better as a lawyer.”

As a global firm based out of the US, PH has made a significant splash in the London legal pool with Chambers UK recognising 14 of the firm’s British-based departments. Not yet content, Raeburn tells us they only expect to continue to grow in the region: “There’s an undeniable momentum here with a clear upward trajectory in profit over the last few years.” Trainees agreed, citing the firm’s ambitious streak as a clear motivation for wanting to join PH’s ranks. “It’s growing quite quickly and in a really good direction,” one enthused. “It’s really exciting!” Another key reason that drew in trainees was the firm’s promise of added responsibility that comes with being an American transplant, as one affirmed: “If they think you can handle it, you’ll get the chance to do it. There’s no babysitting here, but it’s made me ten times better as a lawyer.”

The Seats

Of the four six-month seats on offer during a PH training contract, you’re locked into seat one without much of a say in the matter. No seats are mandatory, and the insiders on our list all had a mix of different first seats they ended up in. After that, you can express a ranking of three preferences to HR, and they’ll do their best to accommodate you – though third and fourth seaters get priority on this. In addition to your standard seat options, the firm also offers an array of competitive client secondment opportunities in lieu of a seat which are “very good opportunities to see a diverse range of work and network.”

A unique seat that PH offers is a stint with the collateralised loan obligation team. What’s that, you may ask? A CLO is a type of security that acquires assets and pulls together loans that the borrower must return over time. For example, the firm advised on the sale of Kensington Mortgage Company to Barclays Bank, including all the finer details that went into it. This includes the acquisition of a portfolio for Barclays worth approximately £2 billion. PH acts as either the arranger or manager of a CLO transaction: “It’s quite a complex industry, but once you're in it, then it starts to make sense!” one source reassured. Drafting is quite common for trainees, as are admin tasks due to the semi-predictable nature of the work. This means that the firm will often build trainees up over the six-month period to the point where they are almost running the deal themselves. It is a rather niche specialism, but one source turned to the world of cinema to sell the group in a different way: “I always compare it to the Big Short – it's in the same category of transaction. If you like that film, you’ll like CLOs.”

“I always compare it to the Big Short – it's in the same category of transaction. If you like that film, you’ll like CLOs.”

Theleveraged finance group is a sizeable component within the Paul Hastings tapestry. Trainees partake in both sponsor and lender side work for matters which range in value size. A lot of the work deals with various US-led financing, so it’s not all that surprising that “it’s a fast-paced seat working with a great amount of people.” Tasks differed, with drafting opinions, emailing clients, business development events, and client meetings on the agenda. We were especially excited to hear that you can channel your inner Kendall Roy and do successions! (“You can do successions on your own, so you can do as much as you want without guidance.”) Newbies also shared that “you’ll be asked to look at certain work streams and either take on just one aspect or the entire thing depending on your level.” With Barclays, Deutsche Bank and more on their list of retainers, this plethora of clients extends to the group’s matters as well. In recent news, the firm represented nine credit funds and two banks on a private credit financing to refinance the syndicated debt of Civica.

If you’re lucky enough to land a spot in the coveted M&A and private equity seat, you can expect to cover a swathe of deals, jumping in at practically every stage of them. Big names roll through this client list too; most recently, PH advised The Bank of London on its potential acquisition of the UK side of Silicon Valley Bank. Trainees largely cover portfolio work, looking after and preparing documents, doing corporate upkeep, and carrying out due diligence during their time in the seat. Sources were happy with the responsibilities they are given, as their duties are “pretty simple and basic with a lot of oversight from associates.” This extends firm-wide, as Paul Hastings is keen to get its more junior members involved: “You’ll get a first stab at anything that comes in. The point is, they give you a piece of what they do day-to-day so that you can see what it’s really like.”

“You’re encouraged to do your own thing. We probably differ from other firms out there in that sense. You can run processes and interact with clients without a barrier between you and them.”

When it came to credit funds, we heard the team “gives trainees a lot of agency.” The work itself requires less analysis and, in a sense, is far less legal; instead, it’s far more process and transaction driven. Trainees spoke highly of the level of autonomy given to them in the group, with one saying: “You’re encouraged to do your own thing. We probably differ from other firms out there in that sense. You can run processes and interact with clients without a barrier between you and them.” In particular, newbies spoke to us about how quickly they developed when they “were given a lot of ownership by being in charge of a fund.”

Trainee Life

Trainees were pleased to report that if they weren’t sitting near their supervisor, then they were sitting near senior associates who would give them work to ensure easy access for feedback and notes. “You work mostly the same matters as them; they’re always there and quite responsive!” one cheerfully relayed. Training sessions are less structured, with the firm taking a more learn-on-the-job approach to its training contract. An interviewee contemplated: “I think they’re trying to remedy that, but you learn through experience – and we’re all so busy that we learn fast.” That doesn’t mean development is neglected, though. New joiners at Paul Hastings are paired with both a trainee buddy and an associate mentor, the latter of which sticks with you throughout all your seats. One training session that was particularly of note was a bi-weekly meeting hosted by a trainee who discusses their previous seat and what they learned, sessions aimed to help other trainees with picking their seat options.

We heard the Bishop’s Gate office boasts “absolutely gorgeous” views from the 37th floor and you get to see them often, as trainees are expected in the office around four days a week. This was seen as a positive amongst insiders: “I like being in! You can absorb more from in-person interactions.” It’s a good job that our interviewees liked their office too, since working at a UK-based US firm tends to demand slightly more working hours than other firms in the city. The average finish time for our insiders was 7pm, but almost all had worked late into the night and during weekends – on more than one occasion. Sources didn’t shy away from this fact though, looking at the positive impact that these expectations have had on their development. “You want to work with one of the best firms in the city with the best deals and clients, and it’s no walk in the park,” one warned us, “But you come out of it being a rockstar lawyer.” And if you needed any more of an incentive, Paul Hastings offers one of the most competitive trainee salaries you’ll find in the country: “It’s silly amounts of money really,” one trainee laughed. “We’re essentially the highest in the city.”

“You want to work with one of the best firms in the city with the best deals and clients, and it’s no walk in the park; but you come out of it being a rockstar lawyer.”

The firm’s culture has slight variations depending on what seat you find yourself in, as the teams are siloed off from each other socially due to the firm being spread across three floors. That said, socials are common occurrences – from team bonding sessions and after-work drinks to the firm-wide Christmas party which took place at the Ned last year. Due to the size of the cohort, our sources spoke of their camaraderie: “We’re quite tight-knit, and the firm did quite a good job of mingling us when we first joined.”

When it comes time for qualification, the process is rather informal, requiring trainees to simply make clear the seats they’d like to qualify into with HR who will then make a case for you to the relevant partners. Trainees had a mixed response to this, with one noting that “a lot of it is self-driven. You really have to do a lot of bidding and networking beforehand.” Although, interviewees did point out that the firm encourages you to speak with partners of groups you’re interested in. “After six months, you feel more comfortable with them anyway,” a trainee detailed, “so I didn’t mind putting myself forward in that way.” For those nearing qualification, there was a palpable enthusiasm for staying at the firm, with one insider pointing out: “It’s an attractive firm to want to stay at because I know we’re expanding; it almost feels like we’re getting in at the very beginning of something!” In 2024, Paul Hastings retained five of its ten trainees.